6 Ingredients That Clean Anything Out of Your Carpet

All it takes to ruin the look of a living room is one tough stain in a light colored carpet. Some stains are extremely difficult to get out, and tend to be the most obvious colors such as red wine. However, if you’ve had a recent spill on your carpet and have tried everything you know to remove it to no avail, there may still be a way to save it. Let’s look at a few.

1. Water Soluble Stains

For water soluble stains such as food dyes, gravy, jelly, milk, cola, alcoholic beverages, wet paint, mud and ice cream, a simple solution of bleach free detergent or white vinegar will do the trick. You can mix a quarter teaspoon of the detergent or vinegar with 32 ounces of water and you will be ready to make that stain a distant memory.

2. Glue Stains

Glue is another problem stain that can seem impossible to solve. However, a glue stain can be easily removed with the application of rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or cloth. By pressing the alcohol soaked cloth to the stain, the glue will begin to dissolve. This should be repeated until the stain is moist. At this point it should be a simple process of wiping the stain out until it is completely gone.

3. Nail Polish Stains

The solution for a nail polish stain is something of a no-brainer. By soaking a rag in nail polish remover, there should be little difficulty removing the stain. Just apply the nail polish remover soaked rag repeatedly to the affected area and wipe away until the stain is gone.

4. Wine, Coffee and Other Difficult Stains

For more difficult stains such as coffee, wine, mustard, vomit, blood, or chocolate a strong solution of ammonia can do the trick. Mix 1 cup of water with 1 tablespoon of ammonia and apply to the stain. If the carpet is wool or wool-blend, try mild-detergent with water instead. Similarly to the above solutions, apply the solution with a rag and wipe away until the stain is removed. Some more difficult stains will take a large amount of solution and applications. However, a good rule of thumb is to start small and work your way up. Watered down bleach can also be used if you don’t have success with ammonia or detergent, but it’s important to know what type of carpet you have before trying it. Different types of carpets will respond differently to certain chemicals and you don’t want to create a bigger problem than you had before. Take the time to do a little research before proceeding. With more powerful cleaners, it’s usually a good idea to do a test application on a small section of the carpet that is generally hidden.

5. Gum and Wax Stains

When faced with gum or wax in the carpet, don’t worry. There is a relatively simple way to remove it using ice. Simply freeze the gum or wax and break it apart. You can use any metal tool or utensil to break it. Once the gum or wax has been broken away from the carpet fibers it can be vacuumed away.

6. Oil and Fat stains

Oil and Fat stains can be removed in another seemingly unorthodox method. By placing a rag or paper towel over the affected area and using an iron, the oil or fat will melt and get soaked up into the rag. This may take a couple tries to get it all out. The iron should be set on the ‘warm setting’ for the best results.

Regardless of the stain problem that you’ve run into with your carpet, there is likely some kind of cleaning solution available to solve the problem…but if you can’t do it yourself, you can always hire a professional carpet cleaning company.